Patients who are hard of hearing have many options for hearing assistance devices. One such device is a hearing aid. Hearing aids may be worn on-the-ear, in-the-ear, and completely in-the-canal. Hearing aids can help restore hearing, but they can also amplify unwanted sound which is bothersome and sometimes ineffective for the wearer.
Many attempts have been made to provide different hearing modes for hearing assistance devices. For example, some devices can be switched between directional and omnidirectional receiving modes. A user is more likely to rely on directional reception when in a room full of sound sources. Directional reception assists the user in hearing an intended subject, instead of unwanted sounds from other sources.
However, even switched devices can leave a user without a reliable improvement of hearing. For example, conditions can change faster than a user can switch modes. Or conditions can change without the user considering a change of modes.
What is needed in the art is an improved system for changing modes of hearing assistance devices to improve the quality of sound and signal to noise ratio received by those devices. The system should be highly programmable to allow a user to have a device tailored to meet the user's needs and to accommodate the user's lifestyle. The system should provide intelligent and automatic switching based on programmed settings and should provide reliable performance for changing conditions.